Headlight shield or dimmer.



F. PARDEE.

HEADLIGHT SHIELD 0R DI'MMER. APPLICATION FILED 050.21.1916.

Patented Dec. 4, 1917.

FRANK rnnnnnor HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

HEADLIGHT SHIELD OB, DIMMER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 4l, 1911?.

Application filed December 27, 1916. Serial No. 139,117.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANK PARIDEE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Headlight Shields 01' Dimmers, of which the following isa specification.

Headlights used on vehicles, and especially on automobiles, present to a person coming in the opposite direction brilliant spots of light which make it impossible to see anyone else on the road, so that the person approaching such headlights is at a great disadvantage. Various means have been employed for dimming such objectionableheadlights and for deflecting such rays of light therefrom down toward the ground so as not to strike the eyes of persons in an approaching vehicle. Except where the lamp itself, by which I mean the incandescent lamp usually employed or the acetylene or other flame, is dimmed, the means heretofore employed have still permitted brilliant rays of light to be directed laterally, to the great disadvantage of persons approaching on the opposite side of the road.

A characteristic of such headlights, even when equipped with dimmers or deflecting devices, has been that they illuminate only the roadway commencing at some distance beyond the front of the vehicle, leaving the space immediately in front darker by reason of the surrounding illumination, And this a condition handicaps the driver of the car having such headlights, especially when he stops and wishes to look at the front of his vehicle or some object on the ground immediately in front.

My invention provides a dimmer or shield which eliminates these disadvantages and which has certain supplementary advantages referred to in detail hereinafter, the

' separate points of improvement being enumerated in the claim.

The accompanying drawings illustrate an embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of an electric headlight equipped with my im rovement; Fig. 2 is a front elevation -o the same; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section thereof; Fig. 4 is a horizontal section on the line 44 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail. The headlight may be of any usual or suitable style. In the example illustrated it comprises a casing A within which is a "of the common plane-faced type).

reflector -B or parabolic or approximately parabolic shape in the focus of which is an incandescent lamp C and at the front of which is a glass lens D. The casing and reflector areflanged at their edges as shown in Fig. 5 and a pair of rings E and F embrace theseflanges and the lens and are clamped 7 together by means of screws G.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated, this comprises 'a shield H of substantially or approximately tubular shape having a flange J at its rear end which is clamped between the ring E and the edge of the lens. The shield may be of any suitable material, such for example, as thin sheet steel with a bright reflecting inner surface. It extends forward and downward. Since its rear end must be circular to fit the lamp and is oblique to the axis of the shield, the latter is elllptical in crosssection. The image thrown on the road, however, is the same, regardless of the shape of the orifice through which the light passes, according to a known law of optics.

For the purpose of definition I call the portion of the shield above the horizontal plane of the line 44, Fig. 3, the upper portion of the shield. This portion extends forward substantially or approximately to the level of the lamp, or sufliclently to cut off practically all direct rays in an upward direction.

from the lamp, but also those which come from the surface of the reflector B',.with or without refraction by the lens D (according as the latter is made of special shape or is This upper portion of the shield in horizontal projection will have the elliptical shape shownin cross-section in Fig. 4. Any rays from the headlight which strike withln this upper portion of the shield will be cut off from the sidewise direction. That is to say, any direct rays which would enerally extendsidewise from the headlight are cut off by the shield. The latter is interposed in their path no matter how small lateral deflection from a straight forward line may A personin an approaching vehicle not in line with the headlight will be protected from such sidewise rays no matter how far from the headlight he may be. Practically it is not necessary to protect an oncoming person at a great distance, or from rays at a. small angle with the direct for- I include in the term direct rays not only those which come directly .extending down to the horizontal line through the lamp, or approximately so, may be used without the remaining portion and will serve to cut oil most of the objectionable rays.

In the preferred form illustrated, however,

- the shield is-continued around the edge of the headlight and its forward end is cut off in a plane extending from the point K in horizontal line with the lamp downward and backward until at its lowermost point it is a very slight distance forward of the lens. In addition the, lowermost portion may be cut out in a slot L, Fi 4:, which is open clear back to the headlig t. By extending the sides of the shield in this way down to the bottom of the headlight there is a further protection afforded against sidewise rays whichmight come from the lower portion of the reflector B. By inclining the-forward end of the shield backward, and especially by cutting the lower portion back close to the edge of the headlight, a beam of light is permitted to pass which extends forward for a considerable distance, lighting up the road sufliciently for a vehicle going atany reasonable speed. At the same time the rays of light striking the upper portion of the shield are reflected downward. The downward inclination of the upper part of the shield may in fact be such as to deflect a certain quantity of light vertically downward or slightly backward to give a good illumination of the space immediately in front of the car.

The downwardly extending position of theupper part of the shield serves also to cut off any blinding glare from persons standing directly in front of the vehicle, a condition which occurs especially in crowd 1 ed traflic, where it is most dangerous, and

especially where a car is turning to go across a crowded street.

An outside lens, either fiat or with one or both surfaces curved or otherwise shaped, may be inserted across the forward end of the shield to keep out snow or dust and to protect the inside of the shield from rust; and such outside lens may be used with or without the usual lens on the front of the headlight proper.

Theimprovement may be applied in various ways to headlights of different construction in detail and the shield described may be used in whole or in part and may depart from the particular shape and'prO- portions illustrated. For example, the side portion of the shield, for cutting off sidewise rays of light, may be complete on one side of the vertical plane passing through the lamp (on the left side in countries where the rule is to keep to the right of the road) so as to avoid blinding persons in oncoming Vehicles; the other-side of the shield being cut away to a greater or less extent to increase the extent of illumination on the ofi side of the road (that is, on the right hand side in the case assumed). In fact,various changes may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the claim hereinafter.

' What I claim is A headlight shield of substantially tubu lar shape, the axis of which is oblique to the level of the lamp, the horizontal section of said shield, on a plane through the lamp, being a closed line extending from one side of the lamp around to the other side so as to be interposed in the path of substantially all direct rays in a sidewise direction; the

rear end of the shield being circular so that the entire circumference of the same may be seated on the outside face of the lens of the headlight and its outer end being cut back obliquely, substantially to the lower edge of the headlight. In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

FRANK PARDEE.

Witnesses:

Fnxnors H. BLATGH, S. A. BARBER. 

